Congress confirms Obama's re-election victory

WASHINGTON - The US Congress on Friday formally counted the Electoral College ballots and confirmed President Barack Obama's reelection victory.

The official count in Congress, which is required by the Constitution, affirmed Obama's 332 to 206 win in Electoral College ballots over Republican candidate Mitt Romney. 270 ballots are required to win the presidency.

Congressional staff pass along the vote certificate for the state of Maryland during a joint session of Congress held to certify the electoral college results and deem President Barack Obama the next US president in the Capitol in Washington Jan 4, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

US Vice-President Joe Biden presided over the joint session of the House and Senate in the House chamber. Biden handed certificates on the electoral votes of each state to four members of the House and Senate who served in turn as the readers.

After receiving the vote totals, Biden read them out and declared that his announcement "shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected president and vice-president of the United States, each for the term beginning on the 20th day of January, 2013."

The current US presidential election system features the electoral college. US voters cast their ballots for a slate of electors of the US Electoral College, who in turn elect the president and vice president.

Under the Constitution, each state is allocated a number of Electoral College electors equal to the number of its Senators and House Representatives in the US Congress. The District of Columbia is given three electors.

Obama will take the oath of office for a second term later this month. Three days of events, from January 19 to January 21 will be organized by the Presidential Inaugural Committee in celebration.

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